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For as long as humans have been gambling, animals have been associated with the activity. This association has extended to themes, game titles, academic studies, and the media man himself. But does the association extend to gambling? Is there any connection between Pigeons and gambling? How can animals and gambling go hand in hand? Here are a few reasons. Let’s start by looking at the animal’s preference for an all-or-nothing outcome.
Pigeons prefer an all-or-nothing outcome.
When playing online casino games, pigeons are far less impulsive than humans. We can produce the same effect by manipulating the magnitude of reinforcement rather than the probability of it. This removes the uncertainty about the outcome of playing games involving non-discriminative stimuli. But if a person is prone to pathological gambling, they may not understand the problem.
Researchers have shown that humans who engage in suboptimal choices when gambling perform worse than pigeons. This behavior has implications for human gamblers because some variables that affect a pigeon’s choice are relevant to human gambling behavior. Interestingly, the magnitude of the reinforcement may be an essential factor in determining suboptimal gambling behavior. Higher jackpots result in higher gambling likelihood in humans.
In the study by Stagner and Zentall, pigeons tended to favor an all-or-nothing outcome over a delayed suboptimal outcome. Interestingly, they also preferred the left-hand alternative over the right-hand alternative. Moreover, this result might have something to do with their lifestyle. Pigeons spend a considerable amount of time observing trees that are in bloom.
Human gambling involves suboptimal choice when the expected return is lower than expected. In similar choice conditions, animals also choose suboptimally. As a result, they exhibit an impaired ability to assess probabilities and reinforcement. They prefer low-probability outcomes with high rewards to those with a low guaranteed prize. This behavior is enhanced when manipulated. The more manipulative a gambling situation is, the less optimal a choice will be.
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Serotonin transporter
There are many studies on the relationship between serotonin levels and risk-taking in humans and animals. This one provides insight into the link between the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) and these behavioral outcomes. However, little is known about the role of the 5-HTT in gambling. In the study, rats were allowed to experience the effects of the serotonin transporter on a touchscreen-based task. They found that the knockouts affected the categorization of a target stimulus.
In addition, the 5-HT transporter has also been implicated in the motivational process of Asperger’s syndrome patients. The effects of 5-HT depletion on impulsive responses and attentional performance were observed in rats. Furthermore, this transporter is known to interfere with frontal lobe dysfunction, a critical factor in pathological gambling. For these reasons, more research is needed to uncover the role of the 5-HT transporter in these behaviors.
Furthermore, the D2 receptor may influence the decision-making processes in pathological gamblers. Interestingly, the D2 receptor antagonists reduced the risk-taking behavior in various pathological gamblers. They also showed a pronounced impairment in decision-making ability when faced with gains. This suggests that the D2 receptors are essential in regulating animal reward tracking. This finding has important implications for future research on the D2 transporter and its role in gambling.
Rats can also play the odds, suggesting that the serotonin transporter may be implicated in regulating gambling. The rat gambling task shares several key features of human gambling decision-making, which could help identify the therapeutic targets of 5-HT. For now, we will have to wait and see what happens before we can see the benefits of 5-HT treatments in humans. But meanwhile, we can appreciate that the rats have a long way to go before we can take them on.
Dopamine transporter
There are several differences between pathological gamblers and those who are not. For example, pathological gamblers react differently to dopaminergic manipulation than healthy people, and there are differences in the baseline DA levels and the DA levels induced by gambling. However, the monoaminergic modulation of IGT performance is minimal, and pharmacogenetic treatment for gambling deficits is still a long way off.
To evaluate the effects of dopamine transporter knockdown mice on decision making, scientists used the Iowa Gambling Task to measure how good decision-makers perform. GBR12909, an inhibitor of the acute dopamine transporter, significantly impairs decision-making in C57BL/6 mice. The drug, taken at sixteen milligrams per kilogram, significantly decreased the number of safe stays and shifts after low-reward situations.
The increased levels of PFC dopamine may promote the exploration of alternative options or higher gains. Researchers performed pharmacological manipulations after animals were trained to perform the RGTreward task with time-outs. This study does not directly assess the role of the dopamine transporter in gambling. However, the results suggest increased dopamine levels are associated with better gambling performance. These differences may help explain the link between gambling and dopamine if these differences are present.
The study also demonstrated that dopamine transporter knockdown mice exhibit increased risk-taking behavior compared to non-knockout controls. These findings support the mouse model of mania. Additionally, it showed that modafinil and pro-depression drugs affect gambling episode performance in pathological gamblers and people with high impulsivity, respectively. The authors also showed that dopamine transporter knockout mice exhibit impaired performance on a gambling task and that modafinil affects the neural processes that affect gambling.
Serotonin
In an article published in Science in 2000, a research team from the University of Illinois examined the effects of 5-HT on the rewards of casino gambling. Researchers found that this chemical is critical for developing impulsive responses and attentional performance. The results of these studies are relevant for various areas, including the treatment of addictive disorders and the study of human gambling behavior. However, one area that remains unclear is the role of serotonin in gambling.
Specifically, they showed that depletion of the serotonin hormone in rats impairs their decision-making and gambling behavior. These rats were given a diet with high or low levels of l-tryptophan or did not receive any. Researchers then tested them in two separate experiments on their decision-making performance, the rodent Iowa Gambling Task and a probabilistic delivery task.
Recent studies on the relationship between serotonin and emotional control suggest that serotonin synthesis and mood are linked to emotional regulation in borderline personality disorder. In another study, Meck WH and Murphy SE examined the effects of tryptophan supplementation on non-normative risky choices in healthy adult volunteers. This study has implications for human gambling disorders and anxiety. If this association holds, then we should do further research in this area.
